Hamilton County Commission vote means residents overall will pay less in taxes

Hamilton County Commission vote means residents overall will pay less in taxes

August 7th, 2013by Louie Brogdon in Local - Breaking News

Hamilton County Commissioners voted today to keep the 2012 tax rate instead of adopting the new higher certified tax rate.

The vote means residents will overall be paying less in tax, because property values overall were appraised lower than four years ago. The change also means the county will lose nearly $255,000 from the current budget. The mayor's staff will assess the change and return to the commission with recommendations about how expenses in the budget will be reduced.

Initial estimates from staff said about $255,000 would be removed from the general fund and $255,000 from schools.

But Commissioner Joe Graham said staff could also find the money in some $640,000 in new miscellaneous spending from the current fiscal year budget that started July 1.